GENEVA, Oct 22 (AFP) - Formal consultations between the European Union and the United States on their WTO disputes over state assistance to aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing have been put off until after the US elections, a diplomatic source said Friday.
Brussels had asked last week to start talks to find a solution to the dispute on October 28 or 29, but the source said the United States was not happy with those dates.
"The United States rejected these date and the consultations should take place during the first fortnight of November," the source told AFP on condition on anonymity.
The source added that in any event consultations under World Trade Organisation rules would be after the US presidential elections on November 2.
The trade giants triggered the Geneva-based WTO's disputes settlement procedure on October 6 by filing separate requests for consultations on a 1992 bilateral accord on state support to the aircraft industry.
Boeing and Airbus have accused each other of flouting its provisions, triggering a complaint to the WTO by Washington and then, hours later, a counter complaint by the European Union.
Each side maintains that the other's support for its civilian aircraft sector is inconsistent with world trade rules.
A senior Boeing official has said the WTO's procedure could be the venue for fresh US-EU negotiations on a new subsidy agreement.
The initial phase of the WTO procedure calls for 60 days of consultations.
If the two parties fail to resolve their differences on their own during that period, a plaintiff can then ask a WTO disputes settlement panel to examine and rule on the question.
10/22/2004 15:48 GMT - AFP